255 Tasting Notes

Oh my goodness, they actually hit it spot on. This tastes exactly like what it says: buttery flour, slightly caramelized sugar, and a generous dash of vanilla. When I’m at the end of my Weight Watchers points for the day and absolutely craving something I just can’t have, I think I have found a solution. Cookies without the guilt. Awesome!

Ginger sounded like a fabulous pick-me-up this morning, so I decided to try out this tea. It certainly perked up my curiosity, because it reminds me more of the Tudor-era Gyngerbrede made with honey and breadcrumbs than any modern ginger cookie I’ve experienced. I think I may have some baking in my future to see how they compare side-by-side!

This was one of the wonderful teas she included, and one that I’ve been curious about for a while. I’m a fan both of Douglas Adams and licorice, so this had to be the first to try!

Opening it is like opening a bag of moist and chewy molasses-rich black licorice… but knowing the calories truly don’t count!

Once it’s steeped, the promise of the aroma does back off a little… maybe a slightly longer time or a little more of the dry blend will give my next cup a little bump. The licorice is still there, and even a slightly thick mouthfeel, but I can pick up a couple of the fainter supporting notes now.

As it is after midnight, I do wish it wasn’t caffeinated, but since I’m still on winter break I’ll just channel the caffeine into more costuming. I’m such a nerd. But off to reconstruct Viking clothing in period fabrics with period stitch types. Yay!

I purchased the 52Teas 12 Days of Christmas sampler for two reasons: First, I can’t afford to buy large quantities of all their teas I’d like to try, and this was a more affordable option. Second, I am trying desperately to finish up the Pageant of Winter Teas for my blog project, and I wanted to be able to get my hands on whatever holiday-themed teas may have been included.

Well, it turned out that this was the one and only holiday tea. When I didn’t receive an email response, I guess I should have read the description a little more closely, because I was a little shocked to find the Halloween tea in there!

It’s been interesting, and the maker’s refusal to post any kind of steeping suggestions has been a consistent and rather aggravating headache. It’s like a homework assignment any time you want to make a new cup of their tea.

I imagine when you buy larger quantities of their teas, you have more tea to waste trying to dial in the best cup. With the small size of the samples, however, it’s more of a roll of the dice. I’ve got hints from other Steepsterites about how they generally approach the 52Teas guessing game, and I try to pick up hints from the notes of other people’s reviews on here, but sometimes it’s just not enough.

Like tonight. I dragged myself through all the homework, but the cup came out too weak and I just have to try to make the most of it. Joy.

The dry blend did smell intriguing. Smooth and fruity with a delightful sparkle of lavender. It’s starting to perk up a little as the tea cools, and the lavender is getting stronger, but at first I couldn’t taste much at all.

Unfortunately, it’s not doing anything for the headache caused by the 52Teas guessing game, and I’m having a difficult time finding my way around it to actually try to gain some enjoyment from this tea.

Preparation

I agree.. 52Teas should have SOME idea how to steep the teas, since they are creating it. They have to test the flavors while making it, so it would be helpful to have steep instructions, especially when you only have a sample to try.

This came in the 52Teas 12 Days of Christmas set, but we didn’t come close to following the suggested order. At this point we’re just making our way through some of the ones that didn’t spark with us originally.

Jake chose this one yesterday morning, and I think part of the reason I didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have is that I just don’t like the idea of soda in my tea. I think it’s just a personal preference thing, as this did taste a lot like a flat root beer. I didn’t get the creamy aspect as much, but the soda part came through very distinctly.

Preparation

Sipdown. I’m sad to see this one go – it’s wonderful to add it to Verdant’s blends and I’ve been really enjoying it. For our Christmas morning tea I used up the last of this with their Peppermint Bark Herbal. Simply fabulous. This is totally going to be part of my next Verdant order.

This morning I decided to celebrate, and mix things up a bit. I used 1tsp of this with 1-1/4tsp of Verdant’s Laoshan Black. I’ve mixed things with the Laoshan Black before and adored them, but this… wow. It takes the cake!

The maltiness of the LB with the cheerful kick of peppermint… oh, it’s so very, very good!

I think I should just mix the rest of them together, because I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy this tea without the LB as much again!

Preparation

Sipdown! Actually, this is one of the few sipdowns I could actually see myself replacing. I really love this tea!

I was in a hurry this morning (which is kind of usual) and didn’t take the time to add a dash of milk. It would have been better with, but on its own this is nice in a sweet, mildly spicy way. Sweet spicy, not hot spicy, that is.

So I’m going to take a moment and savor it while it lasts. Only two more school days left!

Preparation

Whew… in these crazy last couple days before the winter break, all my non-school projects have crashed and fallen by the wayside! I wanted something easy, sweet, and uncomplicated this evening. This was the ticket.

Preparation

I’m working on sipping this one down. It’s a fairly close thing. Preparing tea samplers for Christmas did wonderful things for the numbers of tea in my cupboard… and allowed me to find new homes for some of the wonderful apple teas my husband hadn’t yet finished!

This is pretty much as I remember it – a little light, with a bright little burst of bergamot. It’s not going to be a hardship to finish, but I’m also not going to be ordering more.